Fatal Snowmobile Crash
Posted on 02/16/2021
Date: 2/16/2021
Case: Fatal Snowmobile Crash 21-5575
Authority: Sgt Alexander Herriges
On February 16th 2021 at 10:35 PM the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a single snowmobile crash that occurred on the trail system in the area of Scenic Rd and Pioneer Rd in the Village of Richfield. The caller reported that the male operator of the snowmobile had struck a tree and was unconscious. Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies along with Richfield Fire and Rescue were dispatched to the scene.
The first arriving deputy on scene was able to locate the snowmobile trail crossing of Scenic Rd south of Pioneer Rd and began making his way down the trail on foot. Another snowmobile operator located the deputy; as well as a first responder from Richfield Fire and Rescue, and assisted in conveying them via snowmobile to the scene. The patient was unconscious and did not have a pulse. Rescue efforts were attempted by the deputy and first responder, and continued by Richfield Fire and Rescue. The subject was ultimately determined to be deceased after he was brought out from the trail system and into an ambulance.
The Hill and Gully Snowriders Snowmobile Club as well as multiple citizens in the area assisted in conveying law enforcement, rescue personnel, and supplies to the crash scene and in transporting the patient from the scene of the crash to the waiting ambulance.
The accident remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The initial investigation on scene indicated that the snowmobile operator had failed to negotiate a curve on the trail at the entrance to a wooded area and struck a tree.
The deceased operator of the snowmobile is a 32 year old Wauwatosa man.
No further information is available at this time.